Bonnie Lass
by zedonkulouslybashful
Summary: Set during the events of DA:A, Justice helps Bonnie finally finish the 'Trail of Love'. Pairings: Corin/Bonnie with allusions to Oghren/Branka. Rated T. SFW.


**Disclaimer**: These are borrowed, Bioware-owned characters.

**Prompt, link**: dragon age - k ink . live journal 8033 . ? thread = 36823905

**Prompt, gist**: The 'Trail of Love' quest in Awakening and its fallout.

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**Notes**: Self-prompt, self-fill.

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-1-

On more than one occasion, the Baroness summoned her into the mansion's courtyard. Soon however, she would dismiss Bonnie, saying she was "too sour-faced to be useful" and "only fit for the lesser ones".

Bonnie didn't know what "lesser ones" the Baroness was referring to. She would have been offended by her comments had she not been so angry at Corin. Whenever she passed by the old chicken coops to get back to their apartment, her temper would flare up again.

"_And where is he anyway?_" she thought, irritated.

Getting her disgust out on paper was only part of the closure she required. Once he got back from where ever he was (laying low, no doubt), she'd give him a good slap across the face and storm out. He deserved no less.

But today, after her dismissal, there was a ruckus outside the courtyard. Justice, a spirit who frequently sulked about the village "observing", was rallying everyone up for a rebellion. And there were other, new faces...

"_Three...dwarves? And an elf?_" Bonnie noted.

Wondering what was going on, she attempted to tap on the elf's shoulder...and passed through it. With a scream, Bonnie looked around at all of the villagers' faces. Then it dawned on her; she realized none of them had aged a day, not even the children. Still screaming and shaking, the elf turned to look at her as did the dwarves and Justice.

Justice said, to the crowd, "See for yourselves! Try to touch these mortals as Bonnie just did. ...How long has it been since you've seen a dwarf? Or an elf? Any new face for that matter?"

The skeptical villagers were nodding their heads with widening eyes. One of the older villagers cried, "Yes, this spirit is right! What has the Baroness done to us?"

Justice persuaded the newcomers to storm the gates with him. An even stranger newcomer, with a slimy, oozing face and gravely voice, taunted the others to fight.

The ensuing battle was fierce but brief. And now the Baroness was making the slimy one scr-

-2-

"Wh- where am I?" said Bonnie, shaking her head as she lifted herself up off the ground. Her head bounded, a headache like never before.

Looking around, she recognized the mansion; it appeared largely untouched. But everything else...everything looked cold, dreary, and abandoned.

Deep within her, a thought slowly bubbled to the surface: "_...**When** am I?_"

Before the horrible shock latched on, she hear noises from down the path and hid behind old man Culdman's fishing perch.

-3-

"Please read it again, Velanna," said Natia.

She recited, "'Across the waters from the baroness's nest, find what you seek where the fishermen rest.'"

Sigrun chirped, "Think this is it?" as she pointed over Bonnie's hiding place. They hadn't seen Bonnie. She still shook with fear. "_Who are these people?_" she wondered.

Oghren belched. Justice recoiled with a gasp (still new to the whole "bodily functions" thing) while Velanna, Natia, and Sigrun all rolled their eyes without comment.

"I've got to piss," he said, unceremoniously. Justice grimaced at him then continued to look in the clearing for the next clue.

"Thanks for the update," called Sigrun, facetiously, "Can you please aim over there?"

Oghren turned around, walking backwards, and said, "Oh, come on. Don't you want to see what the fuss is all about?", gesturing to his crotch. He fell over a gnarled root and everyone but he, Bonnie, and Justice snickered.

"Damn schleets," he muttered and quickly got up and shuffled away before 'it' got him.

When Natia found the corked flask containing the next clue near her, Bonnie and she both shrieked when they saw each other.

"Bonnie? Were you pulled here as well?" asked Justice, tenderly.

She stammered, recognizing his spirit but not his form, "Justice, is- is this the Blackmarsh? Where is everyone else? ...Am I...dead?"

With the question, her thoughts turned to Corin and she felt sick with grief.

Justice lowered his gaze and said, "Yes, it is the Blackmarsh. I do not know where the others are. ...And yes, your body is...dead."

The guttural wails and sobs from Bonnie made the Blackmarsh feel even more haunted than it already did. Oghren shook himself, laced up quickly, and returned to the others.

"Did you all hear that?" he said as he stumbled up. When he saw and heard Bonnie, he stopped stock-still, his hand tight around the hilt of his sword. No one paid him any attention, all hurting with sympathy for Bonnie.

Justice took her into his arms while she continued to weep. After a while, he sat down on the log with her in his lap, rocking her as she sniffled. Then he caught a whiff of something, something that was a mix of her and another essence emanating from...

"Natia, what's that in your hand?" asked Justice, abruptly.

She returned, "The next one of clues we've been gathering, I'm pretty sure."

"May I see it?" asked Justice, extending his hand.

Natia uncorked the flask and gingerly retrieved the fragile parchment from it. She handed it to him, hoping he'd read it out loud (since learning how to read was still on her to-do list).

"Bonnie, dear...is this yours?" asked Justice, referencing the rolled note. She looked with puffy eyes and felt another wave of grief. It was her stationary...with Corin's family seal. She wordlessly nodded and Justice put the missive in her hands. With fresh tears welling in her eyes, she broke the seal and read aloud, "'Look for the stones, they stand tall and true. The biggest has a...'," her voice faltered, "'...present for you.'"

More unearthly wails and sobs.

When she had composed herself again, Justice offered, "It seems proper that you should join us. The trail they've been following appears to be...intended for you." He paused then said, seeming to know something he wasn't sharing, "You will not know peace otherwise, my dear."

Pitiful, she got up from Justice's lap with his help then lead the way to the old Summoning Circle. When she saw it, she stopped short. She remembered the cries from the children the Baroness had stolen to that place and the wails of their parents the following mornings. She whispered, afraid, "The Baroness will be angry if we disturb the stones."

Justice reassured her that the Baroness was defeated; Bonnie was not and never could be again her thrall. Still, Bonnie hesitated.

"It's okay, I'll do it," volunteered Sigrun, cheerfully. She nearly said, 'I'm dead anyway,' but thought better of it since they were in the presence of an _actual_ dead person. Sigrun quickly retrieved the flask and gave it to Bonnie, who then read the next clue: "'This is the last, you're almost there. Remember the pond where we started our affair?'".

The memory of the bright, sunny day there at the pond's edge with Corin came back to her. He taught her how to skip stones on the pond's surface. She smiled ever so slightly then realized she probably hadn't smiled in years...maybe even decades.

Returning to the present, she lead the others to the pond and stooped to retrieve the old flask stuck in the slimy mire of the pond. She uncorked it; there was no seal on the note this time. Just parchment furled within...her engagement ring. To be able to afford the Baroness' blessing was probably a fortune, never mind the actual ring.

Bonnie dropped to her knees, out of tears to cry. She was beyond grief; all that remained was disgust with herself. Eventually, she lifted her gaze to Justice and asked: "Where is Corin, spirit?"

"I- I do not know."

Oghren callously informed her, "He killed himself," as he took a swig from his wine skin. Even in Oghren's stupor, the irony that his method of suicide was slower than Corin's, didn't escape him.

Bonnie was crushed by this news. Pained, she asked Justice, "Will I ever be able to tell him I'm sorry?"

"...Perhaps," replied the spirit. He continued, "Reconciliation must occur before you can be reunited; justice demands it."

Puzzled, Bonnie interrupted, "Aren't reconciling and reuniting the same thing?"

"They are not." Both Bonnie and Oghren were listening intently.

Justice continued, "To reunite implies you were united in the first place. And to be united you must be mutually loyal to one another toward a common purpose. But to reconcile...that is to settle accounts...and, possibly, to be resigned to something...not desired." He paused then asked, "Bonnie, finish this statement: 'What I wanted from Corin and did not get...'."

While Bonnie thought Oghren took several pulls from his wine skin. Eventually she said, "I wanted him to be serious about us. ...But he was! What do I-"

Now Justice interrupted her, "What do you think he wanted from you, Bonnie?" Without missing a beat she responded, "Patience...and trust."

"It would appear that your accounts are settled then. You've acknowledged his person-hood and your erroneous presumption. ...I said before that I do not know where mortals go after they die. I do not know if you will be reunited with Corin or not." With this, Bonnie's heart broke but revived when he continued: "But, I do know that justice has been served many times over the offense...for both of you."

Bonnie sighed. But then, she started to fade, smiling brightly as she did so...as though she saw the face of the Maker himself.

With Kristoff's cracked lips, Justice smiled too.

Then, turning to Natia, he stated, "It seems I may still be needed here...to find the lost. Or at the very least, to commemorate them properly."

Natia thoughts turned to Brother Burkel, his kindness, and his sermons. While wondering how he was, she replied, "Absolutely." Then she wondered how many of her people will experience what she just saw. "_Will I myself?_" she thought.

Bidding farewell to Justice, all were contemplatively quiet as they left the Blackmarsh. Especially Oghren.


End file.
